Fortune 幸運
by AnimeFanGurl21
Summary: AMUTO. Nuff said. Please read cautiously.
1. Chapter 1

_**FORTUNE~ 幸運**_

Book One: Sun

本1: 太陽

Ch.1

_Being trapped feels strange. Sometimes, when it's been going on for a while, you learn to compress it. People do that. They live good times in replacement of bad. But the bad is still there. It hurts... _

"Ouch, Marabelle!"

"I-I'm so sorry m 'lady."

"Does it have to be tied so tight?"

"Y-yes..."

"Quit yer yappin' you two! And sit still Miss Hinamori!"

-✖✖--✖✖--✖✖-

A beautiful young girl, about sixteen, was sitting on a red cushion before an elegant jade dresser. A white bow hugged a section of her pink hair, its leftover laces falling gracefully to the floor. She had on a fancily ruffled dress, bearing the soft colors of fulvous cream. Two maids occupied themselves in preparing the girl. The first one, frail and skinny, was tying the back of the princess' dress with nervous fingers. The other, sturdy and thickset, was waving a fluffy brush on her cheeks, enhancing her delicate features with foundation.

"Oh what a beauty ya are," the big maid said as she put away the brush, "look it."

She moved aside so the girl could see herself on the mirror.

"This prince would be quite the fool to turn yee down like those in the past!"

The girl stared blankly at her reflection.

"T-there m' lady. You're finished." the tiny maid, Marabelle, said. She stood up from the floor and made her way over to the other maid, Cho. Satisfied with their work, the two smiled at the mirror.

_It's always the same...._

_I'm tired of that girl._

Cho let out a content sigh and clapped her hands together, "Well they probably need me downstairs with the party and whatnot. I'll go fetch the queen as well. Come on Marabelle!"

The two maids made a swift exit, leaving the young princess to stare at herself alone. Beautiful yes, but happiness didn't match her face with her extravagant clothing.

A light knock interrupted the seemingly eternal silence, followed by the entrance of the queen. Her tall, thin body garbed classic and exquisite clothing as well.

She made her way over to her youngest daughter, so mellow as if a ghost. She put her hands on the princess' shoulders.

"Perfect. Cho and Marabelle really outdid themselves this time."

_A doll? I'm not._

"The event will begin soon. You should head downstairs. I assure you, this prince is the best one so far."

"I'm not going." The princess did not request, she commanded.

"I won't be made a fool of again."

"Amu, this isn't a choice. You will go and that's final. Soon enough you'll be seventeen. You must marry..."

"I said no!"

"HINAMORI AMU!" Now the queen's command's valued more.

"This isn't a game! I don't care if you feel like it or not, this is the way it must be! We've already been though this countless times."

"The way it must be? What?! So the tradition of this so called 'royalty' is to sell your children off a prizes? That's disgusting!"

"I'm not selling you off! I was to marry when i was sixteen, and so was my mother and hers. It's not a punishment, it's an honor!"

"It's all a lie! I'm obligated to sell myself, and all I stand for, to mediocre marriage?! I refuse!"

"It's not your choice!"

"How can it not be? I'M the one being sold! This shameful system might have been enough to trick Rima and Yaya. But I won't fall to the same fate as my sisters!"

The queen's hand movement was quick to follow. With the swift motion, a slap across the face caused silence for the princess, who with wide eyes held back tears.

"I've had enough," the queen began.

"You will go, and you will marry this prince regardless of circumstances. I'll make sure of it, even if i have to drag you to this forcibly, I will!"

Her exit was forceful, and made a point. The princess was left alone once more.

Her left had rested on the red blushed cheek which had fallen victim to the act. Tears threatened, but the cheek didn't hurt. The heart did though.

"Amu-chan." A sad little voice barely heard, yet spoken out took the princess' attention.

Ran, her guardian character, was the source.

"You'll be okay."

_Go go Amu-chan! Fight fight Amu-chan!_

She was soon followed by the Artist and the Maid. They kept silent.

None knew what to say. they knew this day would eventually come. The princess wouldn't be able to scare off all the prince's before the game got old. There was no way out of it this time.

_Sometimes predicaments fall into the 'minor' category. Marrying? At least you're not dying. Marriage is nothing compared to what other must face._

_Really? Being forced into a marriage. You might as well be dead.... if you're nobody._

"Amu..."

She wiped away the first tear, but the others came rapidly in show.

The little green garbed maid, Su, floated to her face with a handkerchief, doing her best to make things better. But failing.

"Don't cry Amu!" Her efforts seemingly tiring, she couldn't stop every tear. With a sigh she began crying too.

"Oh stop it Su. We don't need you making a scene too." Miki said.

"B-but, our Amu! Our poor Amu..."

"Stop it!" The princess' voice crackled. "Just stop. None of you can do anything. You could never do anything!"

The princess made her exit as well. out the door she stormed, high heels forcing angry sounds on the wooden hallway floor.

Her charas were left with a saddened glow. Miki the artist retreated to her eggshell.

"Miki, what are you doing? We have to follow Amu."

No response, so the pink chara tried again.

"Even if we can't do anything, it's our duty to make sure she's okay! We have to be with her and..."

"What's the point Ran!! You heard what she said. She doesn't need us, she never did! It won't be long before we're..." Miki began but was interrupted by the sobbing Su.

"Don't say it Miki! Please don't!"

"BEFORE WE'RE ALL GONE!"

Silence is scary. Only interrupted by the soft crying of the maid... ghastly.

"....I'm still going," the pink one said, and went out the door, leaving her companions behind.

**END CHAPTER 1**

**I will continue this fanfiction soon.**

**I do not own shugo chara, this is purely fan made. Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2

_Sorrowful is the bird in it's cage. Protected yet tortured to a less fortunate chaos. Yet exaggerated chaos can comply with order, how so? How often?_

Floor boards were foolishly attacked by that of which flounced away. She did not stop. Blinded by an arm which covered tears, to the roof she retreated. Not far behind flew the petit Ran. Calling out, she dared not. She would follow her owner for the time being.

The only place that was _outside_ within the castle, the garden on the roof. She parted the doors with the pale hands of a lamb she was cursed to, and into the night air she went. Innocent. Powerless. Stars twinkled like tears of the heavens that night. Tears of a princess, locked away in a tower, forevermore.

Collapsing onto her knees, face buried in feathered palms of a bird so small, she cried the last of what was there.

Ran had caught up, only to float beside her. Besiege her in fancy words she would not. She could merely.... be there.

Dote on a princess, only to bring her further into catastrophe.

_Mama! Mama look! By the tree! There are kids down there. Can I go too?_

_Oh.. It must be nice to play...._

She would cry no more. Out into the dark rolling fields she stared. The cherry blossom tree. So lonely, she could see.

"Amu... Will you listen?"

Ran never had a good way with words, for Amu didn't either. That was Miki's job after all.

The princess didn't respond, yet she didn't refuse. So Ran spoke anyway...

"I'm sorry Amu-chan! I'm sorry I couldn't do anything. You were right! But at least, for the time being, we're still here. You must go. I'll be there too, even if I can't do anything, I'll be there! Please Amu, before..... Ugh, I'm still here right now! You can't run away, but maybe..."

The princess spun around, and took the fragile chara into her hands, letting her rest a little red cheek on her heart.

"Okay..." It was all the princess could say. Her voice was cracking.

Ran smiled, at least for one last time.

_What is it? Why give it to me?_

_But grandma, it won't open!_

_My heart... feels warm. I'll treasure it always. And maybe I'll even find the key to it too!_

_The Hinamori family's heirloom. A promise? Alright. It'll be my promise._

The four-leafed clover shone a bit, on the lock it was designed on, hidden in her dress. A princess' promise can't be broken. Then, if that was so, her heart had chance too?

"There you are! Miss Hinamori!" Cho was always the loudest.

Amu looked up, letting go of Ran, who floated beside her.

"The festivities are about to begin! What does yee think yer doin'? Come, come!"

Her hands where those of a hard working maid indeed. Around the princess' left wrist they curled, and led her downstairs.

The Hinamori Castle's parties always had chances to show off it's pompous and exaggerated behavior. Tables set with velvet drapes stood about the room. Laid out of course, were delicacies of the most magnificent kind upon them. Cakes of foot tall displays, sometimes more, even created shadows on the red carpeted ballroom floors. Draped over mammoth-sized windows were the fabrics of a spirit, flowing air into the room from the cool night. Dancers and jugglers pranced about in costumes one might say exceeded a carnival. The royal fool joining in, played in cartwheels, regaining warm laughter from the hundreds of guests. Colors were of bounty, and smells of the best kind. An orchestra placed on an elevated floor, played uplifting, heartful music into the ears of the many.

In the middle of the room, the longest table, decorated with most expensive baubles of such limits, seated King Hinamori himself. Looking up to the grand staircase, he caught vision of the beauty that was his daughter. He motioned to the servant beside him, wearing a feathered hat, who seemed on cue to call out these words, "And now. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present thee, Princess Hinamori!"

Claps were sounded on the palms of the many. Smiles cast upon their faces, as the princess walked down the steps. She hated every step. Despised the sounds. The sights. It was all.... appalling to her.

Sneering of the guests were almost felt as they thought them:

_So that's the famously un-wed princess?_

_What trick to scare this prince off does she have now? I'm sure her mother won't allow it this time._

_She must be so full of herself. A beauty yes, but she isn't even worth it all! My son would be better off marrying the cheaper broads._

Her face was always expressionless. As a princess, she had practice with it. She walked over to her now standing father.

"We've been waiting my dear. I have someone you must meet. He's been interested in marrying you for quite some time!"

_He doesn't even know me you pompous ass!_

The king stepped aside to reveal the boy. This one was about the same age as the princess. He looked fragile, and innocently kind. Red dazed eyes set upon him, accompanied by soft blond hair. Dressed i what the usual prince was to dress in, he greeted her smiling.

"Hello. I'm Hotori Tadase. Pleased to meet you."


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3 Death

_People. It's a strange word._

The ballroom held silence now. It was a different silence, for whispers only acted as subtly as such things do. Names traveling from mouths to ears like a game. Yet all seemed to hold on to dear breath, for what Princes Hinamori said might be of great sacredness. And amusement.

Before this day, bachelors had been thrown off by her. Acting as discourteous as thought possible, she had chased every one off thus far. But now, the last prince. This one of the well known Hotori family. A good match to make. Money of course was involved. Bonds of bounty as well. How could the princess resist? Her family would not allow it. Not this time.

"Well my daughter, what say you?" The king being of his kind, wasn't the one of much patience.

Amu stared into the boy's red eyes. As plainly as she couldn't see. Further. Nothing. A bit of a golden glare mounted her face. Teeth gritted as if not to yell. She could feel the breaths of cruelty and distastefulness floating around her.

"The. Pleasure. Is. Mine." Like the doll she was forced to be, she said.

The crowd settled just a bit. This response wasn't the nastiest that had escaped her rosy lips.

She was pierced with the stare of her mother, yet without even knowing it.

There was still more silence, anticipating any momentous action. Calling for it with it's temptation to be broken.

"Now my dear daughter, will you not bow in welcome?" A custom officially taken.

"No. I will not."

Gasps of the most pretentious variety flew into the room.

"Oh, that's fine. I will though." The prince's expression was still of warm-heartedness, with such that he bowed before the princess. None had taken so lightly to her attitude before. He was different.

Trouble was felt by the many in the room. The queen seemingly ashamed and embarrassed to a pulp by her disgraceful daughter. The talk of the town she had always been.

"Er... um. Yes, now that the two have been introduced, let us continue with the celebration! I haven't called so many out for no reason. Take your seats, and let out great feast begin!"

With the announcement by the king no less, servants of all costumes, colors, and ages pulled out every single chair, leading the guests into them with sweet expressions. All the inhabitants of the 'celebration' took a seat. All too quiet.

Princess Hinamori was to sit at the grand table next to her father and mother. As a reflection on the opposite side, the Hotori family would sit. And that was as awkward as it would get.

Oh how her father talked. And oh how King Hotori would talk. Money. Land. Commoners. Money. Marriage. More money. Amu didn't dare touch a portion of food. She used her plate as an escape for her eyes, all the while receiving invisible yet apparent scowls from the queen. The prince merely sat still. Averting his eyes around the room, occasionally landing them on the princess, who never looked back. All the others staring at the royal families. All the while anticipating something grand. An explosion? Maybe. They would expect anything at how things were going.

"Yes of course. Now, why is your son interested? Give me reasons for such a proposal!"

_You mean why his father is interested. This is all such a stupid joke!_

"It's not just him. Our family offers many things. It wouldn't be wise not to accept." King Hotori seemed to just speak at the point.

The princess had never tried so hard not to stab someone with a fork.

"Yes of course! A bond it is then?"

A _bond_ was absolute royal fellowship. Completely unbreakable. The guests all around now only listened. Even the band stopped playing.

King Hotori put down his glass. Swallowing first, then saying in full agreement, "Yes. I accept!" This time. Yes this time, was not like the others. For they got to the point quickly.

A slam that had been waiting now mocked the silence with it's sound, coming from the princess' fork no less. It was left standing on the table. Its fangs piercing the wood below.

_How... How could you! It's no say of mine. I'm nothing, not even in the eyes of my father. Mother. I don't have... anything..._

Tears now stained the table's drapes. Sobbing seemed sadder in the hush the crowded room had taken. She left swiftly. Up the stairs, weaving hallways, perplexing doorways. Letting her hair fly behind her. It had dropped the bow it once wore. Her dress mimicking a ghost as it would run through a castle. She had become too much like a ghost.

"Amu-chan!" Ran had been there of course. The entire event was seen through her little pink eyes. Perhaps the last...

The princess went past the garden, to the tower where she had once stood. As a little girl, she would pretend to have friends, and no one would see, for heights had scared them.

She let her tears fall over the edge for the longest time, until it had almost become interesting to see where they'd land over the grey haze that marked the looming castle. Ran put her tiny arm-span around Amu's wrist, and wet it with her own tears. She was so scared, and soon joined by the Artist, and the Maid.

Bringing her wrist to her wet face, she looked at them with the saddest glow anyone would call impossible to compete with.

"It's over. There's nothing more anyone can do." Words called for tears. It is quite difficult to talk through them.

She bore the three in her arms. How could she have possibly imagined the last time to be as such? Their hatchings passed through their heads like faint memories as they began to fade away. As easy as they had come. One by one in order of turn, into the air like fairydust in a tale, they died.

"Thank you."

Last words to them. It was all she could say. Not even the glow of the lock was felt anymore. Not even the slightest shimmer, for it died as well. And so did the princess, as she had been dead since birth like she had felt.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4 First Friends.

_Is it possible to be dead, yet still alive? Mocking burial, with color on your skin. Hell on earth....._

She cried. And that was that. Of emotions people are made up of. Fake, she thought. It must be. Happiness only exists to cover what the truth leaves behind. Pain.

_W-who... who are you?_

_My.... guardian angel? Mine?! I don't believe..._

_I have to believe.... or you'll die....? My only friends.... _

Maybe the wind stopped blowing, for the haze was so thick that night. Stars still beckoned to fall from the cheeks of heaven.

A visitor had approached. The visitor. He had witnessed the dejected affair, giving him memories of his own.

"Y-you... had shugo charas as well..."

Amu almost gasped from her tears in surprise of a human voice. It was the prince, who must have followed her up the towers. She looked away immediately once she knew. Not a word, yet curiosity.

Walking over with the elegance he was raised with, he stood beside her.

"I had one too, once."

With that she turned to his face. It was mellow, stareful, lost.

With no words she asked for an explanation. Her eyes did the job well enough.

"His name was Kiseki. I got him when I was only 5 years old, in hopes for what my parents had said was possible. To be a kind king. Heh. He taught me a lot for the short time that...

That I was able to keep him alive."

Without shifting expression, her guts churned in feelings of revelation. He continued.

"He died, because I found out the truth. The fact that being king was a curse more than a blessing. That royalty was a forged misunderstanding. I was born into false accomplishments, and it hurt..."

He stopped abruptly. The princess looked down again. She wasn't the only one doomed. She figured royalty had taken victims of every birth through the castles of the land. All the families. The ones who realized it, got hurt the most.

"I'm sorry." He tried at being sweet again.

" I don't deserve to be apologized to. I've gotten petulant."

"I think we all have."

Maybe that was a truth as well. He spoke again, now facing her, and in return he had the same action back.

"I'd like to be your friend if that's all right. Marriage in royalty is as fake as being alive in it. But... I was hoping that we could still..."

_A friend? I used to think I knew the word. I could still learn..._

"I-I wouldn't mind. I guess."

The prince smiled his lyrical smile. He held out his smallest finger, as if some kind of new... tradition of such things?

"What?" Amu wasn't familiar with the gesture.

"Oh um, a promise. My uh... sister. She once told me to make a promise to become new friends. A pinky promise."

_Pinky promise? What was this? A game?_

"I'm not very good at keeping promises." She remembered the lock. Broken now. Dead like her heart.

"I'm not either. But... we could try again."

_A promise is supposed to last in trust. Had she no trust before? Perhaps too lost... so she had lost to her loss._

Nevertheless, their smallest fingers curled around each other into the new promise. Both needed practice with themes such as this, it was decided. It could be possible, even if only for a second, for ivory to shine. Though only for a second.

_**Two weeks Later...**_

Marriages were done quick in the _royale_ fashion. Meaning nothing, as they didn't, they got over and done in the pace of spirits. All somber in their faces of white. Not even the flowers lived after that day.

A palace on a terrace they were to live in, under the watchful eyes of their fathers. Guards in every hallway. Maids that could tend to every whim, as if to live [i]for[/i] you. You weren't permitted to leave... or live in that matter. It was as simple as being dead in a different place. Only lonelier.

In this palace, there were no gardens. No towers. No escapes. The bond was done. Now to wait for your body to die along with you.

Though still friends, they had separate rooms. The princess dormed in one with a white patio, bearing a brown pot of roses. Her bed was made of the velvet of dreams. Soft and ghastly. It faced the west, only letting her see sunsets. It was adorned with drapes of red, tea sets of gold, dressers of silver, walls of red, ceiling of angels who she didn't want to reach for any longer. They wouldn't give her chances again.

As for the prince, a room in the north he had. No sun he saw. Room of blues, creams, and purples. Drowning in it.

The palace sucked their breaths right from their lungs. Asleep they would gasp in their dreams for dear life.

_This must be what forever feels like. If that is the case, I don't want to die either._


	5. Chapter 5

Ch. 5 Passing Plastic Roses

_Time plays tricks on you. Speeding up, and slowing down. It thinks it is funny. A game in your mind and soul. Not many aquaint to it very so often._

Days began dragging their golden feet. Turning into endless pages to write on. But there was nothing to write about in that palace. Same as nights, although not as bad, for you had sleep to busy yourself with. Yet not even in dreams you could live. At least not for the princess, who even lost interest in yearning for more.

_I wonder about my sisters...._

She never had very often. They must be feeling better, for they disguised their truths like they were taught in a pretty play as young. Just like Amu, who now was tired of pretending like a little girl.

_I'm the fairest maiden in all the land! Don't you think so daddy?_

_I'm your precious little doll._

She was indeed, like a doll. Oh what a curse.

God forbid death come quickly in this ostentatious home. Thank whoever there was to thank though, that there was someone to speak with. Maids were unreal and guards could only stare. The prince though, liked to talk.

They would share stories at the breakfast table. The only voices ever to say actual words. The more they spoke, comfort took over, and they said more things. Personal until the point of sharing secrets. Though they didn't like to touch. Only their words, they thought, would be unsinful to touch each other. They weren't expected to bear children, for Amu's sisters had already continued the Hinamori hex. They would keep their friendship as the promise they made on that night. It seemed so far, yet only a few weeks it had moved away from them.

Time was most definatly, not by their sides. It played with them, running its windy hands through their hair, chilling their bones. It had become so unbearable that the prince requested every clock to be removed from the palace. The princess couldn't of agreed more with this action. She had a request as well. She called for a batch of roses, for the ones in her brown pot on the plain patio, had all died. She wanted plastic roses. They wouldn't die. Perhaps it was to trick time back, and accept.

She hated those ugly roses. They reminded her, of her. She would stare at them to pass time. Yet time never passed.

Death almost became a wish. Terrible yes, but what else was there to wish for?

"I want to go outside." She said at the table one morning.

"As do I." Was the prince's response.

"Such an appeal won't be fulfilled though, unless of course we are accompanied by the guards."

"I want to go for a walk on my own."

The prince sighed. "As do I..."

She couldn't bear anymore. She began to sob, and a maid of the pace hurried over to the princess.

"Don't. Touch. Me!" She never broke through her crying. Crying, crying, crying. Not a weapon nor a satisfaction.

"I'm a person damn it! I'm still alive!"

The prince shooed the maid away, and over to the princess he went to comfort putting his delicate hands on her shoulders.

"We could have a garden... if you wish..." He was almost afraid to speak.

"I don't want a garden. I want to go outside! Please! Just let me go outside!"

She was so fragile, he could see, and could not speak anymore words. She turned to the only true kindness and into his arms she went.

"My friend. My only friend. You can't do much but, please forgive me. For wetting you with these stupid tears! Don't... don't pity me."

He cried too, and in reply said, "My only friend, will your heart not bear beats any longer? I'm already dripping..."

Clocks not heard in the palace continued to tick. Wasting. What to want now? As of being a human spirit, it was there.

That night, the princess had stared out of her patio until the sun had set again. She wanted to run with it, all around the world, as if a race. By the sun's side, she would be free, she thought. As the moon rose, she reached in between her breasts, to pull out a jaded item. The golden lock. It really had lost color after all. Holding onto it, elbows resting on the patio's borders, empty tears fell onto the clover. Though she didn't have the energy to cry. Tears just came and went with no feeling.

_I'll run out this way. Then what will fall from my eyes?_

She closed the gold that her eyes were, not thinking, her mind cleared, until she couldn't even feel any longer. Did death feel like this? It was peaceful.

Suddenly her hands had trembled. Quickly opening her eyes again, she saw the lock, which had pulsed once. Her gaze widened.

_Am I still alive?_

In the back of her mind she didn't yet want to let go. Why?

Throwing a swift glance at the roses, she hid the lock where it once had been and shivered. The metal had gained cold from the night. Her right hand slowly began pushing against her chest, as if a motion only done, not felt. Her heart was still there. She just wanted to make sure.

"I want to go outside..." She whispered to herself. It was a sad wish.

She tried to dream of outside after asleep. Below her patio was grass she never walked on, flowers she never picked, trees she never stood under. And above, rain she never felt, wind that ran away, smells she was kept from.

If time was not kind to roses, only the sun, then she'd be the sun. She was alive.

She had slept deeply, for she hadn't heard. The guards hadn't heard. The prince, not a sound. The maids also. It was quiet in that palace. Too quiet for their ears who weren't able to hear anymore.

The princess had left her patio open that night. The moon was full, lighting up the room white and blue. That color. Of violets. Clever mischief. A visitor in the house.

He must have heard the pulse, for he had been waiting.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch. 6 The Violet Thief

_Roses are Red,_

_Violets are Blue_

_Do you not know_

_The heart plays tricks on you?_

Peaceful sleep didn't invite dreams, like most nights. Empty sleep. She had become accustomed to it. So deep it was. Feigning oblivion.

Though the patio had urged a visitant with temptation, for it's innocent open arms weren't tended to that night. A full moon, no stars. Dark, yet not so dark.

With objectives unknown, and a spice of curiosity, he entered. Seeing sight of the room adorned with tranquillities, silent, swift, mellow steps were taken. Not a sound. He knew he was not welcome. Like a forsaken spirit. The appeal of the room was too much to resist. It was apparent he was searching for something. With a gaze so full of comfort, he spotted the princess dead in sleep. She had not heard his presence, for which he didn't have much of one. Good. His gaze changing, he sensed what he must have been wanting to find in this unfamiliar home. However, the prize was not revealed to the naked eye.

_Thieves. What are they really after? _

It was not a dream. Too real. A face she awakened to. Stirring until her golden eyes opened again, and what they saw...

astonishing... unexpected. Perhaps, uninvited.

With a back slightly bent, hands in his pockets, he stared into her eyes. Observations made on both sides with deep interest, and semi-shock.

His face she had never seen another like. Eyes so blue, they created jealousy upon the oceans. A soft, relaxed stare they gave off. His hair matched the hue of azure, though darker. Falling like wind onto his light skin. So pale, seemingly untouched for so smooth it was.

He was thin, his features sharp. Unlike anything. Like everything. For the first time, she could feel her heart beat, perturbed yet amazed.

_I'm still sleeping...?_

"Yoh." A greeting so calm despite circumstances. What a voice.

"Would you mind falling asleep again?"

"Wh-who are you...?" She didn't even feel her words.

"A murderer. I've come to take your life."

"Wh-what!?"

"Hmm. Just kidding. But your patio was open so I thought, you know, why not."

He seemed to be playing. She didn't think it was funny at all. Her cheeks felt warmer.

_Who does he think he is, barging in!? What nerves! This must be a dream... _

"You have something I want."

She slowly rose, siting up, seeing clearer, the stranger in the night.

"Wh-what? What do you want?" Her voice was fading, cracking. She was becoming unsure of this, now more awake.

With those words said, his lips did a thing full of scandal. A smirk she had never encountered before. Full of mischief indeed. His face now getting closer, inflicting infatuation on her, she felt frozen, though steadily sliding back until she depended on her elbows, against the bed, to support her. She barely blinked. It happened slowly but felt quick. So close now, so sudden. She didn't know how.

He had rested his hands on either side from her, on the bed. His fingers positioned on the fabric. The ones of the ghastly dreams. Taking a closer look at her face, locking her still, with his body just a breath above, making her heart sink.

"What..? Don't get so c-close!" Her plush pale skin now standing out redder by the night's moments, she almost whispered threats.

"On account of where the lock is, I'll have no choice."

_I don't like this game at all! How does he know about the... oh he's getting closer! Wh-what do I do? This never... HELP! I'll call for... but... I can't speak... What is this fiendish feeling?!_

He had averted his stare lower, twisting his head in a peculiar way.

The princess, without a moment's thought, brought her right arm up as if to hide her chest.

"Don't even think about it you degenerate!!" She had never had anger like this. It was weird anger, with embarrassment, and skipped heart beats.

"Then you can reach in there and hand it to me if you like."

_The nerve of this GUY! I don't even know who he is! Nor he does me!_

"Thief! I'll call for the guards!!" She found the strength to begin a move. Trying to swivel around, out of his clutches. He was a quick thief though.

Before she had the slightest idea of anything at all, he grabbed her left wrist, so free, pulling her and up against the nearest wall her back pressed against, soundless.

Using his hand as a cuff around that wrist, locking her once more, no escape. Freezing her with a fixed look.

"I won't hurt you, I promise."

He threw the word into the entertainment.

"Now if you'd be so kind, and stand still..."

His eyes shifted again. She had never worn sapphires as blue as this, a princess, accustomed to the finest jewels, but they could not match this stare.

Now moving his countenance closer, their foreheads touched, such a slow pace, pink and blue strands intertwining. The color they made...

Terrified yet absorbed in the situation, never closing her eyes, lips partly parted, a minimal sighful moan escaping. The rim of her nightgown, his fingers were curled around it.

"HINAMORI-SAN!"

With alarm that took them both, the thief stepped away, facing the intruder to the predicament. The princess let go a breath she must have been holding, for it was a big one.

The prince had heard from his room, the faint uncomfortable says of the princess. He hurried over to her, in a protective stance, standing in front, facing the "guest".

"Y-you! What are you doing here!" His voice had panic, perturbation, and realization.

"We meet again. I had a feeling..."

"You're not welcome here!

"I'm not really welcome anywhere." The prince was frantic, yet the visitor still calm, playing his distractions.

"Looks like you lost yours as well."

Those words had hurt the prince. Amu watched with widened gold pools. Shaking. Clutching the rim where earlier, it was held by the blue haired thief.

"I know exactly what you're after, but you might as well forget it! I won't let you touch Amu!"

"Amu?"

The guest averted his eyes back to the princess.

"So that's your name eh?"

She gulped.

"Stay away from this palace, and stay away from her! I swear if I see you around here again...!"

"Calm down. I'll leave then. But where I choose to be is my own decision."

At a pace of mellowness, he made his way over to the patio, before exiting into the night, saying the words, "Ja ne, Amu."

The guards had gotten there late. Some royalty protection alright. Though now everyone could breathe.


	7. Chapter 7

Ch. 7 Lingering Petals

_When you don't recall, or know, or feel events, how will you act? Clueless and perfect.... It's tempting to call forth devilry._

Sleep was near impossible now. Things had changed in the dramatic fashion, even if only for a while it held its intensity, the event of that night had brought it. Promptly baffling, it had come.

The kings had heard now. Fathers of the friends, called upon punishment of the late knights and guards. A scolding they got, and quite a good one. Some even executed to the point of the blade.

"How dare you let a fiend, a burglar, a demon enter my daughters room! You are lucky she still lives, for all your heads would be butchered!"

The king had great words of rage. He shared them thoroughly he did. The prince's father enraged as well, though did not speak much, only agreed with punishments.

Her father had apologized for hiring such guards for his precious, bond holding daughter. She knew he was angry for the bond's breakage, not her. Yes... an item she was. Not everything had changed.

Back at the lonely palace, the prince shook invisibly. Hiding secrets, she could see. He would not answer her many questions.

"Who was he? That thief?"

"He was no one."

"How did he know about the lock? How do you know about it?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? But, you told him to stay away for a reason."

"I... I just... I don't know. Don't worry about this, please."

"How can I not be curious? How can I not worry!?"

"I understand how you feel, but please, pay no mind to this. You are safe now, I will see to it."

She had sighed. Asking him, no matter how many times, would not work.

Suspicions of the highest marks rose in her head. The prince Tadase knew more, and she was sure his father did as well, for he had acted in a peculiar way. Quietly. From what she knew, he was a man that would speak like things were, but now nothing? It was not like him. It made her want to know more.

Oh the uproar this caused was one of a mammoth size. The lock. They knew. That thief knew. About what? And how? So many questions. None answered. All she knew, is that she was to be kept safe.

_He knew that blue haired thief. They both knew... each other. _

All the words spoken by the lazuli guest, stuck inside her. Stitched now, into her they were. She though about them and his voice, without needing to, or wanting to.

His last words, those had kept her unsettled, and agog.

_Ja ne, Amu._

"See you later, Amu."

Her name in his mouth. There was something about it that made her shudder slightly. It was as if he knew everything about her, yet she knew nothing about him. Not even his own name.

_Why should I care!? Why be curious? Why, why, why!?_

_Why is a good question._

She could not help it. As her vigorous tries to keep him out of her mind failed, the more she wanted to perceive.

Perhaps because... this is the only thing in her life, that had made her feel this way. Interested.

_Curiosity killed the cat._

_But Im not a cat._

Cat. That word reminded her of him.

_I wonder if he believes in that saying, the thief._

_Probably not._

This had made her chuckle. Not a happy chuckle but one of realization. To think of the thief as a person who thought things of his own. She wondered more... and it killed her.

_Oh why. I don't like that word. I don't like a lot of things._

During nights, all the guards were to be awake. And the day, the mornings, the afternoons, every hour that the unseen clocks gonged to. Time existed strangely in that palace indeed.

The men in armor had stood all around her in the day, everywhere to the point of true annoyance. She could do nothing. At the nights, so silent now, they had stood outside her door. Her patio locked of course. Tight. Safe. Untouched.

She was left to dream, and wonder, and ask questions. On her bed she lay, and never forgot that night. Thinking, like an art form. Pondering possible answers. She came up with nothing. She could not let go though, of that feeling. That unusual sensation of a sinking heart, for which she had never known existed until that night. As a princess she had been kept perfect. Away from the world, so feelings, she did not have many of.

Hunger from curiosity had developed, until one night, during the twiddling of thumbs, she stood from her bed. Her nightgown, so white, had followed her up, like the wraith she was. She stared at the patio doors. They were glass. Seemingly invisible. Transparent. Making her way over to them, still twiddling, nervous, wondering.

The lock that bonded the doors together, they had trusted her to keep closed. The key, on her dresser, now in her hand. Weaving it between her fingers, its white color.

_I am foolish to even think it. Stupid. So... clueless..._

But she was hungry, and envied the patio's locked perfection.

With a silent click, the guards could no hear, the patio's lock undid.

_Stupid bird. I'm a stupid bird._

She stood silent, thinking and re-thinking what she had done. Weighing possibilities. The consequences would be dire. Her hands shaking a bit, they took the lock from the door, and with the white key, were placed on the bedside table, just an arm's stretch away. She held her innocent hands now, together, one in another, and felt her heart beat. Her chest was warm. She swallowed, and swallowed again. Gulps of acceptance, still hungry.

If events weren't to happen on their own, she would help them come. Foolish yes. Dangerous. But a life of nothing, had not taught her to resist such an offer. An offer, of something actually starting to happen. Finally, there was a chance of her clock to begin ticking, and being heard.

One way or another, she would find answers.

But days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into a month of nothingness. Every day, hungrier, she would open the patio doors, tempting, giving their open innocence a sense of enticement. Where was the midnight guest? She did not know. Growing ravenous, not wanting to admit to the fact of the want she had to seeing the violet thief, the rose made herself bait.

_I just wish to know the name of my thief. If the prince will not say... I will ask him myself._

She told herself this, as if to make the sin bearable. Now making the thief, hers. Claiming ownership. Such a thing.

As clocks never stopped circling their hands, with every passing night, she would open the doors a bit further, until she felt the cold wind every moonrise and set. Wide open now, unknown to any but her.

Things had settled with time for everyone else. The prince was once again calm, guards had some sleep, maids were busy with things. They had seemingly forgotten. But she refused. The only time she had felt alive, and now yearning for it, like a bird who does not know how to fly, yet wants to know how flight feels.

_Stupid bird. Will you not learn? Stop this nonsense. You will never fly._

She finally began sleeping more soundly. Not attentive to every little sound, for they might be of another presence. She never dreamed. Empty sleep still claimed her victim.

Outside. There were violets. Unplanted. The scent of roses, was too much to resist for much longer.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8 Whispers Of Antagonists

_There are a lot of ugly words. Meanings. You are left to wonder. What shall questions be of now?_

_In lifeless sorrows of the night, just imagine. How dreadful it seems to need action upon sentience, for dear reminders your lungs still fill every day, and release._

Mimicking demise, eyes closed in a sweet fashion. Asleep for a night, inquisitive. It is deceitful. All the while, inside, there was war in her body.

The heart. The Mind. Sides of which she could not choose. The Heart was feeling. The Mind, logic fancy. Could they not work as one? For the better of personal rationality? No. Not in this case. Blurry. She let them argue as her being rested, feeling the colorless winds of summer that visited the alluring patio doors.

That night, a full moon had come again, and the wind was not alone.

For a month it had held the scent of roses.

For a month it had swayed the violets.

Now playing like time does...

The war seemed loud suddenly, and as if on cue, she awoke as he stepped onto the cool tiled veranda, sharing it with the brown pot of fake flowers.

At first she only stared with the gold that were her eyes. Sitting up, blinking to reality. There like he had once been, appearance still full. Clothed in black, contrasting the hazy azure that stood out in the dark. Real. And so with actuality came the beating. Today, The Heart had claimed victory to its craving.

_There. Now that you have your fiendish wish, will you not lead? You retreat, into my chest. You coward. I face this alone._

"You really need to learn how to keep these doors closed. Idiot."

It was strange hearing his voice again, now giving her the first insult, as a princess, she could hear.

"I-idiot? You're an idiot for returning!"

She had always been stubborn, and now in regrets to spitting back. He was still the unknown to her. He could do anything. Even hurt her. But what about that promise?

In return though he only chuckled. "I couldn't resist. You just made it easier for me."

She gulped in a cracked fashion. As if trying to swallow her heart, to keep it from beating out.

"Besides, I didn't get what I came for last time."

She remembered now, the questions she had. The Mind, admitting bitterly to defeat, threw them, blinding her.

He stood though, in a leisurely fashion, out on the patio. Yawning, the action making him more human, inviting her to know more about his mysterious aura.

_He does not move? Will he not come forth and... like he did, that one time. So close but... WHAT AM I DOING! There's a thief in my room! A THIEF! And I.... the bird.... invited the cat._

"Y-you, won't... come in?"

She though it was the most imbecile coated question that had ever parted her lips.

_Seriously princess! Of all the questions, and THIS is what I ask!?_

"I'm not welcome right? So technically, I'm not _in_side the house."

He played with words again. Yes it was true. Clever Cat.

"You're strange."

"So are you, inviting a stranger inside?"

Well, that was accurate also.

"I-I wasn't inviting you, thief!"

Her arms crossed.

"Thief? I haven't stolen anything yet."

There was silence now. They stared. He into nothingness, he was calm. There were games to play. She, clueless, looked for answers, but his features gave none. Now to wonder, what to do? To take advantage of this? She must.

"H-how... do you know of the lock?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes it matters! How did you know.. I had it? Where it was?"

He took a bit to say.

"Hmm. You're nosy."

"You're a hypocrite!"

_I don't see the fun in this! Is it how the outside plays its tricks? _

"Fine, I'll tell you. But, you'll have to come closer."

"W-why? I'm fine right here."

_I will not fall for tricks! You could... you could, do something... I won't like..._

"Have it your way, I'll just leave then. Maybe if I come back another time you'll be sleeping and..."

He had began to turn.

"Wait!" A calling, almost yearning. Not wanting to loose opportunity.

Stopping in mid track, his back showing to her.

"I-I'll... I'll come over, B-BUT! You have to promise you won't do anything." She had already felt warmer, her cheeks pink like her hair. Asking strangers for promises? What in the world, the world she knew for 16 years, was happening?

"I wouldn't hurt you." It was a simple statement, and called for acceptance.

She swallowed her heart again, and as she stood, it became harder. Her hands clutched each other, just above her chest. Her feet were numb, the wind blew her ghostly gown against her charming, innocent body. It seemed flustered in action. He watched her walk up, in the fashion. He would not hurt her.

_Lines are thin._

Her eyes raised up to him, now closer, as she was. Carpet and tile. The line between them, small. It was not awkward. It was something else.

She did not know why she had to come, why he had told her to, why she had listened, why she did not want him to leave, why she had questions, and why she asked him for a promise. Stupid bird, stupid lock, stupid heart.

"O-okay. I'm here." There were whispers now.

He bent down just a bit, to put his eyes in the same line as hers. They met again.

"I'm going to tell you something, that you can't forget, or take lightly."

She was still hungry, intrigued so.

"We are enemies."

Yes, whispers his words came in as well. That word, had clicked her head.

_**Enemies.**_

She did not savor the word, she only got stuck with it.

She wanted to ask, but she didn't know how.

"I guess it's fate."

There was meaning to what he had just said. She knew there had to be.

"Fate?"

"Maybe."

She had so much more to ask, to know. Yet only simple, insignificant ones seemed to escape.

Still staring, gem colors, whatever eyes could be, they learned from each other. The sight was new, fresh. Silence after statement.

His hands now, which had been in his pockets relaxed all the while, took an action of coming towards her soft face. Slowly.

"W-what..."

Not a question, just surprise.

"Do you want to know a secret?"

His hands had cupped her cheeks then.

He felt her skin, and her his. Her cheeks were warm. His hands, cold. Even though they had been in his pockets.

_For an enemy, he's getting far too comfortable! How dare he touch me like this!? I'm a prin..._

_I want to know the secret... _

"A, secret..?"

"Yeah."

There were still just whispers, now not so distant. Talking wasn't called for.

In contact so suddenly uncalled for, a scent of an outsider so close, a boy's scent, it was different to her. A flush of cherry red decorated her face, just below her dim eyes, almost invisible as they did not know what to look for any longer. Just his face they saw. The Blue was hypnotizing. He was mellow regardless. Mischief still threatened, but now dulcet. He seemed more human, thought still unknown. A boy who's hands were cold, and handled her cheeks, and stared with eyes deeper than the sea that were bounded with long black lashes. Observed, and had secrets.

Detail was observed more closely. Imprinted in both heads they became. Faces of which would not be forgotten, forevermore.

He moved closer, as secrets were supposed to be told in that way. As her sister Rima once had said. Secrets are told by the ear. Whispered so none other could hear. It must have been important.

She did not attempt to swallow again. It would have had no effect. Her heart beat uncontrollably. Out of beats once in a while, skipped, and hard against her chest. Afraid and... something else. A feeling she did not know of in her perfect world. Untouched as a princess, she let go of prior knowledge. Events such as this had no explanation. Just.... some kind of fortune to it. Bad, or good. Maybe both?

Now his face, he had moved closer. Feeling his light breath upon her right ear and neck, her eyes closed in reaction. In defense? No. In the being of being flustered. Thought now, his breath seemed lower, on her neck and suddenly...

The tactile sense of something that tickled. Almost moist. He was, after all, like a cat. Of all tricks that were played, he had caught her in one. Now completely agitated, eyes wide open, a squeal had escaped her mouth. Away from him she backed, until she could feel the wind again. And there he stood, obviously amused, laughing.

Anger. Unusual anger.

"YOU TWISTED PERVERT!"

A lick on the neck. Truly. A fancy of abuse? Just entertainment on his part. Though he had kept his promise. The gesture, though erotic a bit, hadn't hurt her.

"Don't get so caught in the moment, princess."

He still chuckled.

Her yelp must have been heard, for footsteps now seemed to echo through the palace's empty halls. Alert the both of them became.

His attention turned back to the balcony, towards the starry sky. The time was undetermined. The white chalky borders of the veranda, his hands griped, prepared to leap. Away into the outside, he would return and leave her to think for another day.

"W-wait!."

She had called again, unsatisfied. She wanted to know...

He turned to her.

"Wh-what, is your name?"

"Why would you want to know?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you know my name... and..."

He seemed to think for a bit, and turned to the outside again.

It was said, from his lips, though she did not see them say it.

"Ikuto."


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9 Printed Chocolates

_Is it foolish to believe?_

That following dawn, a sleepless night had made her wake reluctantly. The night, she had seen him again. Dissatisfied still. Her questions neglected, all but one.

"Ikuto..." She whispered the name to herself, now that the word was real. Saying his name. It felt uncommon, and her curiosity teased.

The prince had come in on those earlier hours, thinking he had heard voices from her room, and worried. She had feigned sleep then, and when he had assured that she was alright asleep, she looked out through the doors she had closed once more. He was really gone. She wanted to make sure.

"Enemy..."

She only knew half his name. Somehow, already against each other they were. Now her mind, riding through its loss in confusion, begged for more. Her doors would still be opened, to see him again. She needed to, refusing to believe she wanted to. It was unknown though, everything about his entity. When and if he'd returned, both worried and starved her.

One day, two days, three days passed and still nothing. She wondered where he was and what he did. He was "outside". He must be free, she thought. I bet it feels nice.

On the fourth day of muteness, a visitor did come, only it wasn't who she had expected. His name was Fujisaki Nagihiko, or Nagi for short. The new, and the only, 'male' maid in the palace. Her father must have hired him, for reasons she would never understand. A kind presence he had, with bright yellow eyes and hair almost blue as a dense twilight. He resembled her and the prince in age, though a bit taller.

"Hello. Princess Hinamori, Prince Hotori, it's an honor." He hadn't called her 'Princess Hotori' acquired through marriage. No one ever did. It wasn't sacred as such. Maybe when her father died, she'd be Hotori. He also hadn't bowed at their names, yet his tone was sweet and simple.

The maids had shown him off and around. His quarters would be in one of the many palace rooms, adorned with modest qualities. Though most maids had shifts, he'd be living here along with only a select few. Trust their fathers must have had for him. Only the best could share a palace with its rulers. Rulers they weren't much of anyway.

As the next days passed, she learned more about this new 'maid'. She payed mind to him, since her nights were still quiet. He was very different, and not only for the fact of gender. He could cook better than any of the others, that was for sure. So he earned the title of "Cook." fairly quickly.

"Where are you from?" The prince had asked one morning, sitting at the table with his friend, being served early delicacies by the one which he had directed his question to.

"Far far away." The cook responded.

The prince's face became a bit puzzled as he put down a silver coffee mug. The princess, who watched the two, did the same.

"Hm, don't worry though. Your fathers wouldn't have hired me if they did not trust me, right?"

Correct.

"Yes of course, I meant no harm." The prince said smiling.

_I wonder where Far Far Away is. It sounds like a fairy tale._

"May I sit with you two?"

That question which the Cook asked, even the thought, would have been considered degrading to royalty by the other maids and servers. He had no shame in asking.

"Um, yes. If you wish." The prince had allowed it. He didn't see harm in the action, and always wondered why the others had.

And so he dined with what was royalty that morning. Scoff and shame the ladies and gentlemen had said, no attention though. He was not just 'there' like them. He was alive like the princess and the prince. With this they knew, future friendships and breakfast tables would be set.

Small talk was made, as if the inhabitants of the brightly coated table all belonged for a bit. Summer sunlight made fancy through the surrounding palace windows. He had much to share, though questions were kept at minimum. It was always so with first appearances, for fear of loosing chances that none of them seemed to get very much of.

Weather, birds, plants, and cooking at the greatest, highlighted the conversation. Funny how one subject formed into another. Though she had paid most attention to the bird theme, she let them do most of the talking. Not intentionally, just lost in thought. Her plate untouched (not likely she'd need the energy anyway), and a few sips of sweet coffee was it. She wandered in the depths that were her worries and mysteries of those haunting questions.

"Hinamori-san? Are you alright?" The prince always had concern for her.

Blinking into reality, she saw them staring at her. Their words must have halted to turn to her attention.

"Oh, yes I'm fine." A bit embarrassed for spacing out.

"Is the tablecloth really that interesting?" The cook pointed out the object her eyes must have been resting on during train of thought.

"Oh no, it's just that... I was just... well... thinking, and..." She was hazy.

"Hehe, it's fine. I was just teasing." He responded in the same calm tone.

"Are you troubled?" The prince would worry so, now with what had happened that night which seemed so long ago. He couldn't forget.... anything. And with what he knew, protect her he must. Was she really always okay?

"No, I'm fine. Please don't worry about be." According to her, she was.

There was a bit of silence, the atmosphere still bright with season, though nothing more to say. Thoughts were thought instead, by what seemed like all three. She wondered if questions would be answered, but it seemed suspicion might be a choice of the prince soon. At least for now, she wouldn't ask him, or tell him. Sips were taken in leisure of disguise.

_What am I doing. Eh, princess? What are you doing..._

"Not to be a bother now your majesties, but it's almost nine o' clock." A softspoken voice, always heard. She was Emi the maid, and acted in place of the absent clocks.

"Alright, thank you." The prince always thanked her as the easily flustered maid scurried away.

Nine o' clock on mondays meant lessons in the grand libraries the palace held.

"I almost forgot."

Time moved strangely in that palace. It's inhabitants usually forgot, well, just about anything. Dates, days, tasks. All wasting wasted time.

The blue haired cook stood as if to clear the table. He headed for one of the marbled counters instead, bringing something from it.

"Before you go,"

He placed the object on the table, having it be followed by the eyes of the prince and the princess,

"Here, have one."

The object was a gold tinted bowl, weaved together with metal wires. The tops of the wires curled backwards as they created boundaries for the contents inside.

Chocolates embroiled in scarlet wrapping paper.

"Chocolate?" The prince wanted to make sure.

"Fortune Chocolates." The cook corrected the prince, smiling and with an index finger pointed up, as if in a well thought out explaining fashion.

She admired the bowl's imperfection. How the wired gold metal held rust, and bent off its original track here and there. All the chocolates inside seemed to have their own place. They belonged as she and the others had around the table, only for a moment.

"Go ahead."

He reached for one first, not even upsetting the balance of the candies. Setting the example, the prince took one, and then the princess.

She took hers gently, also not wanting to disrupt the equilibrium. She felt the wrapping paper which coated her chosen candy. Despite it's aluminum appearance, it was smooth. Not wanting to tear the paper, for the action seemed unworthy of the elegance in which they held, she unwrapped it carefully, revealing the bite-size block of creamy milk chocolate. It gave off a slight scent, and as she took the only bite needed to finish it off, it was lost now already used to its subtle fragrance. It was sweet and called for indulgence. Looking back at the unwrapped paper in between her fingers of her right hand, she caught sight of something. It was too small to see, so holding it up close, she read in her head the words of steel blue printed on the paper.

_"A clock has two hands, which move at vastly different paces. Every so often though, the two come together for a moment."_


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10 Lessons to Dearest

_Letters, lovers, look a dove_

_Better, covers, push to shove._

_Learn it all. Sweets and sours._

_Yearn it all. Wish for flowers._

_Teachers teach us how to teach._

She ate the rest of the candy, her eyes never leaving the printed words.

"Rain only comes when there's a wind." The cook had read his out loud, thoughtfully. It encouraged the prince to do so as well.

"Clouds don't fly backwards, but thunder is still heard from the past." This had made him wonder.

"And you princess?" The cook prompted her as well, though with words. She was still lost. Easily so.

"Hinamori-san,"

The prince had a more familiar voice, catching attention with it.

"What does yours say?"

After being alerted, she looked back down at the words, and read them plainly.

"I don't get it. I thought fortunes were supposed to be... well..."

"Something lucky?"

The cook finished her question.

She looked at him in a way that answered, yes that was the question. Now where is the answer?

"Luck is good or bad, like a solid thing. Fortunes are vague enough to make you think."

And then he added.

"I think it's more realistic that way."

That statement had imprinted itself in her mind. Nagi had a different way of going about things. That's what the palace must of lacked, because the sensation of something new was felt.

_It doesn't matter. I don't believe in luck anyway. Words printed to a higher meaning? It's ridiculous._

-✖✖--✖✖--✖✖-

Lady Indigo, (Yes like the color. All her dresses were indigo.), was the princess' structor. She had been since Amu was 7, the age of which young ladies were to begin being educated. Well, at least within the castle walls it was. However, her lessons were restricted and censored by the King and Queen to only have Indigo teach what they wanted the princess to learn. Through such education, not much could be taken. Lady Indigo often remarked against it.

"It's barbaric. Restraining a child, any child rich or poor, of proper education! You can't pick pretty lessons from ugly ones. You should learn them all!"

But she was, after all, doing a job for the name Hinamori. The King paid quite the check. She'd would have to choice but to teach the princess, face to face, simple harmless things. Face to Face.

Lady indigo was born to be a teacher, and anyone could tell. And she'd do what she'd been born for.

The libraries found in palaces hold books of all sorts. So this villa would house them as well, no mater how much of its size was compared to the main Hinamori castle. Aspects of all sorts were written in these endless pages. Indigo would often "go to the restroom" and such, leaving the princess to explore the countless shelves and think, and wonder. She'd have freedom to read pretty stories, as well as the ugly ones. Without experience, or the bittersweet taste on real living, the texts on those pages were as close as she'd get to "outside".

When Lady Indigo would return from said trips, Amu would quickly do away with the story she had been reading, like a frantic child would if they had been caught in the act of mischief. The both would then sit back down and the previous lessons would continue. It was not wrong nor right. Just accepted.

"A princess doesn't need to know of ridiculous arithmetic, or sciences, or hateful things the rest of the world is blinded with. My daughter will only need to know how to speak, and write, and and act like a lady."

The queen had said those words long ago it seemed. So literature, weaving, proper pose, balance, and manners were her lessons. Face to Face. Every monday morning.

"Princess Hinamori, I am not feeling well today, though I am still here. Today's lesson will be simple postural manners."

The princess nodded as she sat on a golden brown chair, by one of the great windows of the library. There were no lights installed in the great church-like room. The moon and sun had enough fun showing off their light through those windows well enough.

Lady Indigo, stern as she was, looked it as well. She also had no expressions, unless she taught. She'd become her teachings and give them life though boring they might be. She made her way to the princess, carrying the usual bag of papers and thin sliced books of the days lessons. Her dress, indigo of course. Ruffled and thick around the waist as if to hide it. She wasn't that fat, the princess thought. Chicly serious. That was her way.

Putting the bag down, she turned to the princess as if to speak, but instead put a hand on her forehead, parting her curled chestnut bangs. With the motion, she did a long blink.

"Are you alright?"

The princess had to have some kind of concern.

"I'll be fine, now. Don't waste your time worrying about things. I must make a trip to the restroom, and maybe have one of the maids prepare tea. I'll be... just fine."

She had already began to leave as her final sentence ceased. The grand doors of the library echoed throughout as they shut.

Alone now, the princess just sat for a while, legs crossed in a delicate fashion, looking out the window beside her. There were no clouds on that particular day. It was so densely blue, the sky, you could almost touch it. Hills played tag as the rolled below the castle towers, bearing their unattended gardens and trees of different shades. The specs of buds and blooms wore their colors of the day, mostly the summer of yellow and creamy white. The winds of the elevated scenery played too, running from above its fingers through the plants. Everything seemed so lyrical. Though her eyes didn't rest out there for long, for fear of better want.

She turned to the towering bookshelves that called their places on tens of surrounding walls. It seemed like a feat to them to reach the colossal ceilings. A ladder was placed in a forgotten corner of the room. Who would climb that high for books anyway?

She made her way through one of the corridors created by the leggy furnitures, running a tender finger across titles as they passed her eyes. Those worlds made of words. The maids saw no purpose in dusting these bookshelves. They were too big, and not as important as the other antiques that prettied the palace. No one entered a palace to see the library. No one really entered the palace anyway. So she collected dust on that finger. Dust from something so imperfect, it was denied the spoiling of cleaning.

Eventually and abruptly, she stopped at a particular title. One who called its home on a thin cover. It had made a memory.

_"Amu-chan! How about this one?_

_"Humpty Dumpty?"_

_"Isn't that the book about the egg?"_

_"Right desu~!"_

That had been the first memory of her angels. With it, she stared blankly. Silently. Not even the winds outside could penetrate it. Her charas had been eager to pick books and read them with her as she learned about the world. This had been a beginning once. Now it reminded her of how easily the end had come. The end. Because she was weak.

_Forever broken..._

_Just like Humpty Dumpty. _

With a motion meant to pick the thin book from its surroundings, she caught a glimpse of something that didn't belong. It was obviously misplaced. Away from home, wherever that was. She picked it up from under the book. A piece of black folded paper. Staring at it intently, she opened it.

What it revealed. A drawing of a clock, with both of its hands sharing the place of the hour** 12**. Though it was not written like and hour, but as a number. **1,200**.

Questions now. But she remembered her fortune first.


End file.
